Toys R Us may be dead, but toy makers are ready to bounce back

Dozens of toy manufacturers gather for the annual TTPM Spring Show Toy Showcase in New York City, where they pitch their products for spring and summer season
Marko Georgiev, Photo Journalist, @Markogeorgiev

William Yarde, 10, of Maplewood gets hit with whipped cream launched from a "Pie Face Cannon" at the TTPM Spring Toy Showcase in New York on Thursday, April 26.(Photo: Marko Georgiev/NorthJersey.com)

Toys R Us may be dead, but sales of the hot summer toys will go on without them, said manufacturers and toy experts who gathered Thursday in New York City.

Glove-A-Bubble by Zing is projected to ring up $40 million in global sales by the end of the summer, and none of those sales will be at a U.S. Toys R Us store.

Yulu Toys’ Watermelon Smash is expected to be a hit even though the only retailer selling it this summer will be Target.

At the annual TTPM spring showcase, toy manufacturers said they are taking meetings with retailers who are adding toy aisles to their stores, or expanding their toy offerings to capitalize on the business opportunity created by the collapse of Toys R Us.

“This is a case where one door closed but five doors are opening,” said Jim Silver, editor in chief of TTPM, which has hosted the spring toy event for eight years. Silver is predicting that in 2019 there will be more places to buy toys in the United States than in 2017, as more retailers add toy departments.

Toy manufacturers, many of which are still owed millions by the bankrupt retailer, with not much hope they will be paid, “are moving on and they’re adapting,” Silver said. The fact that Toys R Us stores in Canada and Europe have been sold and will remain in business, and that the Asian stores likely will remain open, has helped, Silver said. But the bottom line, he said, is that “people aren’t going to stop buying toys because one retailer closed down.”

TTPM, a leading toy review website, hosts toy showcases in the spring and fall each year and releases its lists of the hot summer toys and the hot holiday toys at the events.

William Yarde, 10, of Maplewood, NJ, gets hit with wiped cream in his face, launched from a "Pie Face Cannon" at the TTPM Spring Toy Showcase in New York, NY on Thursday, April 26. Marko Georgiev/NorthJersey.com

Ryan Rossman demonstrates the Watermelon Crush game, in which participants take turns "crashing" a water-filled watermelon toy on their heads until the lucky winner cracks it open and gets doused with water. Marko Georgiev/NorthJersey.com

Mike Lorion of Wonder Workshop explains how a CleverBot works, a robot which can draw different shapes on the ground, at the TTPM Spring Toy Showcase in New York, where dozens of toy manufacturers pitch their products for the spring and summer season. Marko Georgiev/NorthJersey.com

Jack Bertram, 10, competes for an award in the money machine at the TTPM Spring Toy Showcase in New York, where dozens of manufacturers pitch their products for spring and summer season. Marko Georgiev/NorthJersey.com

The Barbie stand at the TTPM Spring Toy Showcase in New York, where dozens of toy manufacturers gather for the annual event where they pitch their products for spring and summer season. Marko Georgiev/NorthJersey.com

In previous years, toy manufacturers would brag that Toys R Us had placed big orders for new products or announced exclusive partnerships with the retailers. If Toys R Us buyers liked your toy, manufacturers knew, other retailers often liked it, and bought it, as well.

Now, toy makers are pitching their products in a post-Toys R Us world. The Wayne-based retailer is liquidating all of its U.S. operations and selling off its international divisions. While there still is a chance that a buyer could acquire some of the U.S. Toys R Us stores, the days when Toys R Us ruled the toy aisles are over.

Some of the companies at Thursday’s show said that even before the Toys R Us bankruptcy they knew, in today’s digital age, that it wasn’t smart to be too dependent on any one retailer, and thus diversified their sales pitches to include sporting goods stores, supermarkets and any retailer likely to sell toys.

"The toy industry always changes," said Chris Byrne, content director of TTPM. As retailers such as Woolworth's, Kresge's and department stores with toy aisles faded away, Toys R Us rose up to replace them. And new retailers will replace Toys R Us, he said.

One possible new source for toy sales is a revitalized FAO Schwarz. The brand, which at one point was owned by Toys R Us, has been under new ownership for several years. On Thursday, David Niggli, who has returned to the FAO team after a previous stint as president, was touring the show looking for toys for the pop-up shops the brand is planning to open.

Although this spring has been colder, wetter and stormier than average, some warm-weather toys released this year are already hot sellers.

Glove-A-Bubble, the toy by Zing that consists of a plastic glove and bubble soap and sells for under $2, is projected to reach $40 million in sales this year based on the initial response.

“Walmart really got behind the item and pushed it in a big way in their stores,” said Josh Loerzel, vice president of sales at Zing.

Glove-A-Bubble is a good example of what makes a toy a hit, Byrne said. It's a new twist on classic bubble play and has an appealing price. "And they're very profitable," he said, estimating that Zing is probably making 100 percent markup on each sale.

Watermelon Smash, a game by Yulu Toys in which players take turns pressing a watermelon shaped plastic ball against their heads until it opens, spilling water, is also taking off.

Ryan Rossman demonstrates the Watermelon Crush game, in which participants take turns "crashing" a water-filled watermelon toy on their heads until the lucky winner cracks it open and gets doused with water.(Photo: Marko Georgiev/NorthJersey.com)

Target has an exclusive deal to sell the toy and has been selling it online for several weeks, and it is now arriving in Target stores. The online reviews and sales “so far have been very positive. We expect it to be a true summer hit,” said Yulu co-owner Jochem van Rijn.

At the TTPM showcase, Johanna Yarde, 8, of Maplewood, who was there with her father, Alex Yarde, a blogger who writes for The Good Men Project and is editor of All Things Geek, was begging her dad for another chance to be soaked by the Watermelon Smash game. "This has been her favorite toy so far," Yarde said.

He said he has mixed feeling about the demise of Toys R Us. "I grew up with them. I know the jingle. So I have a lot of nostalgic feelings," he said.

But in his current life, "they are not my go-to place for toys." It became more expensive than the competition, the stores often were out of stock and the staff wasn't always helpful, he said.

Ho-Ho-Kus mom Lisa Pisano, who writes the Mom A La Mode blog, said Toys R Us was the place where she would take her 7½-year-old son, Rocco, for a reward. "It was always 'I'll take you to Toys R Us.' So now I guess it's 'I'll take you to Target, I'll take you to Amazon,' " she said.

Rocco, at the show, liked Cra-Z-Squeezies by Randolph-based Cra-Z-Art, squishy foam toys that kids can decorate with markers. Another Cra-Z-Art toy, Nickelodeon Slime Super Slime Studio, was named one of the hot toys of the summer by TTPM.

Rocco also was drawn to some of the toys at the show featuring the poop emoji and other forms of bathroom humor, including a miniature port-a-potty that opens to reveal poop characters. "What can I tell you? He's a 7½-year-old boy," his mother said.

Joan Verdon can be contacted at verdon@northjersey.com or 973-569-7063 or on Twitter @JoanVerdon.